Tag: Ribbon Rouge Gala 2015

TOMORROW is the big day everyone! It’s been a long road to this point and we are bubbling with anticipation since there is only ONE more day before Ribbon Rouge #8! This year’s theme is QUEEN: Women who inspire and motivate us to be difference makers in our community. You can still get your tickets for Ribbon Rouge online here. And if you can’t make the show this weekend please donate instead!

Today we are showcasing Amanda Schutz, a business owner, creative designer, illustrator and president of the Alberta North Chapter of the Graphic Designers of Canada program. She and her students are helping craft some of the amazing artwork that will be displayed at this year’s Ribbon Rouge Gala showcasing our amazing QUEENS. We had a chat with Valery about the things that motivate her, drive her and make her the compelling personality she is.

Ribbon Rouge: For those who might not know you, who are you and what do you do?

Amanda Schutz: My name is Amanda Schutz, I’m the owner and creative director at Curio Studio. Curio is a boutique graphic design firm specializing in branding, graphic design and illustration. The studio has been creating honest, authentic, client focused design since 2002.

I’m also an illustrator. I create illustrations for Curio clients, exhibitions of personal work, commissions and teach illustration in the Design Studies program at MacEwan University.

Finally, last but not least, I’m the president of of the Alberta North Chapter of the Graphic Designers of Canada.

RR: What is the GDC, and why is it important? (this is from gdc.net but explains it very well)

AS: The GDC is Canada’s National Certification Body for Graphic and Communication Designers.

GDC has been Canada’s national certification body for graphic and communication designers since 1956, establishing professional standards and actively regulating professional conduct. GDC is a member-based organization of design professionals, educators, administrators, students and affiliates in communications, marketing, media and design-related fields. Our members come together to advance the profession, grow professionally, mentor each other, show off their work, and enjoy the camaraderie.

GDC is a not-for-profit, adaptive and vibrant organization fueled by member participation. Members are encouraged to become involved with and access GDC through their local Chapter.

The National Council is essentially the united nations of GDC chapters, consisting of representatives from all over the country. The National Executive is the organizing and governing board of GDC. It is comprised of elected representatives who are charged with the responsibility of executing strategic initiatives and directions developed at the annual general meetings.

RR: To what capacity have you been involved in the GDC – Ribbon Rouge Student mentorship?

AS: I worked with Valéry and Iwona (GDC Education chairs) to help support them in coordinating the project and meeting all of the goals. I attended the client meetings and mentorship nights with the students to help out wherever possible.

RR: How’d you get started as an artist?

AS: I have been expressing myself through drawing and painting for most of my life. I took a design and illustration program at MacEwan University 16 years ago and found that I could apply my curiosity and artistic skills into a professional career.

RR: Do you think it is important to mentor student artists and why?

AS: I feel this is very important because we all deserve to have somebody give us guidance and advice at the beginning of our careers. This can build long lasting and meaningful relationships where you can mentor over and over with the same person or someone different. Also, its great for the mentor because working with younger creatives can give a different perspective or reinvigorate passion and excitement in your career.

RR: Our theme this year is QUEEN! It is an ode to powerful women who have positively influenced us by their lives. What does this mean to you?

AS: I think alot about what I can do to contribute to helping girls and women succeed given that I have had so much help in my own career. I have been very blessed in my life with a partner, friends, family and colleagues who support me in my artistic endeavours and encourage my (sometimes) wild ideas. I like to keep pushing myself with new challenges and I would not be able to keep momentum going without being surrounded by amazing women… fellow designers, business women, clients and colleagues that I can lean on for advice or feedback.

RR: Do you have a Queen (inspiration)? Who & Why?

AS: I admire so many women. If I were to pick an artist I would choose Georgia O’Keefe for her fierce passion and independance. If I were to pick someone in Edmonton today, I would choose Darka Tarnawky of Bottomline Productions as I have much respect for her as a genuine, kind, successful business woman.

RR: What are you currently working on?

AS: Right now I am just finishing up a year long illustration project for Rutherford House, a children’s book called Rutherford the Time Travelling Moose. Curio is working on a variety of branding projects right now for arts organizations, small businesses and the University of Alberta. I am also working on a new illustration project for a children’s play about a librarian in Iran.

RR: What stands out for you as one of your favourite career highlights so far?

AS: I have had many creatively fulfilling projects for sure, but if I were to pick a career highlight, it would be when MacEwan University presented me with a Distinguished Alumni award a few years ago at their annual Convocation.

RR: What’s the favourite part of your job?

AS: I like many things about my job because I like things to be different all the time. Variety is the spice of life! I would say my favourite would be coming up with the initial concepts for my own work or helping my co-workers through the projects they are creating. I get energy from collaborating with others and feel like when we work together as a team it can be so rewarding. I also like eating desserts and snacks in the office with my co-workers.

RR: Any other Alberta artists you’d recommend?

AS: I absolutely love the work of Pulp Studios (Kelly and Cory). We were so fortunate to have Cory come for one of our mentoring nights with the Ribbon Rouge students. Edmonton is filled with talented artists and illustrators.

RR: What does Ribbon Rouge mean to you?

AS: The project itself felt very meaningful as we learned so much about what this event does for the community. I found it especially moving to hear personal stories and history of the Queens that were illustrated. Mostly, I was really woken up to how little our society knows about HIV and all of the misconceptions around the illness. I feel this project overall gave our organization (GDC) a great opportunity to work with a non-profit client to create meaningful illustrations that contribute to something very important and worthwhile.

RR: Where can we find you/ more of your work?

AS: Visit curiostudio.ca or amandaschutz.com! I am on instagram/twitter at @whatiscurio and @amandaschutzie

Amanda and her students will be presenting their incredible art works celebrating our QUEENS at Ribbon Rouge this Saturday. Join them to celebrate our QUEENS at the Ribbon Rouge Gala being held at the ATB Arts Barn. You can still buy tickets for Ribbon Rouge 2015 online here. The show will start at 7pm sharp this year.

Only THREE more days before our annual Ribbon Rouge Gala! This year’s theme is QUEEN: Women who inspire and motivate us to be difference makers in our community. Please remember to get your tickets for Ribbon Rouge online here. And if you can’t make the show this weekend please donate instead!

Today we are showcasing Valery Goulet, a teacher, business owner and mentor for students in the Graphic Designers of Canada program. She is helping craft some of the beautiful artwork on display at this year’s Ribbon Rouge Gala highlight our amazing QUEENS. We had a chat with Valery about her passions and interested and what keeps this incredible woman so busy.

RR: For those who might not know you, who are you and what do you do?

Valery Goulet: I am the owner of valérydesignwrks, a small multidisciplinary design studio in Edmonton, Alberta.

At the beginning of 2015, I decided to leave the agency life I have known for the previous 14 years, and I opened the doors to my new office. I learned many things from the places I had put in my time; most of all, I realized my passion for branding, illustration and crafted design. I’ve had the opportunity to partner with some pretty awesome clients, and I’ve shared in their successes and helped grow their businesses.

Additionally, I teach at the University of Alberta and at the Grant MacEwan University in the Visual Communication Programs. I also occupies the Education Chair position on the board of the Graphic Designers of Canada.

RR: What is the GDC, and why is it important?

VG: GDC is Canada’s National Certification Body for Graphic and Communication Designers.

GDC has been Canada’s national certification body for graphic and communication designers since 1956, establishing professional standards and actively regulating professional conduct. GDC is a member-based organization of design professionals, educators, administrators, students and affiliates in communications, marketing, media and design-related fields. Our members come together to advance the profession, grow professionally, mentor each other, show off their work, and enjoy the camaraderie.

GDC is a not-for-profit, adaptive and vibrant organization fuelled by member participation. Members are encouraged to become involved with and access GDC through their local Chapter.

The National Council is essentially the united nations of GDC chapters, consisting of representatives from all over the country. The National Executive is the organizing and governing board of GDC. It is comprised of elected representatives who are charged with the responsibility of executing strategic initiatives and directions developed at the annual general meetings.

RR: To what capacity have you been involved in the GDC – Ribbon Rouge Student mentorship?

VG: For this project, I have been taking many roles from being the liaison with the Ribbon Rouge organization to mentoring and working with the student members participating to the project.

RR: How’d you get started as an artist?

VG: I have a college Degree in Fine Arts which was my first connection to the artistic world. I have learned multiple drawing, painting and sculpting techniques. After my degree, I realized that it would be a great idea to pursue graphic design which is also connected to art.

RR: Do you think it is important to mentor student artists and why?

VG: Definitely! Mentorship should be part of any education program as you are getting something way more personal and adapted to the type of work you are doing.

RR: Our theme this year is QUEEN! It is an ode to powerful women who have positively influenced us by their lives. What does this mean to you?

VG: As a woman, it means a lot and like those women, I hope that I can also positively influence others.

RR: Do you have a Queen (inspiration)? Who & Why?

VG: I do but it is pretty difficult to put a name on it and many people from different era and for different reasons inspire me.

RR: What are you currently working on?

VG: I am always working on multiple projects at the same time. I am currently completing a branding project for a client located in Québec. I am also preparing my classes for the winter term as well as planning a new activity for the GDC.

RR: What stands out for you as one of your favourite career highlights so far?

VG: Starting my own business is one of them as it is something quite demanding and also scary when you haven’t started any other business of your own. I am proud that this is finally happening and also going well.

RR: What’s the favourite part of your job?

VG: Creating is definitely one of my favourite part of my job. Helping a client or a student to solve their problem is challenging in a really positive way and I love it.

RR: Any other Alberta artists you’d recommend?

VG: I would like to invite you to visit the Royal Bison which is a grouping of great artists and crafters: http://royalbison.ca/

RR: What does Ribbon Rouge mean to you?

VG: At the beginning of this project, Ribbon Rouge seemed to be a great organization helping others. At each meeting I had with the Ribbon Rouge team I learned so much from the organization. It is really impressive to hear the people sharing their stories and their knowledge. Now I feel more people should know about Ribbon Rouge and HIV. It seems that most people don’t know anything.

You can also follow my Twitter account @valerydesignwrk, as I am pretty active on there. I share a lot of information with my followers and I also use Twitter to share interesting resources with my students.

Valery and her students will be presenting their incredible art works celebrating our QUEENS at Ribbon Rouge this Saturday. Join them to celebrate our QUEENS at the Ribbon Rouge Gala being held at the ATB Arts Barn. You can buy tickets for Ribbon Rouge 2015 online here. The show will start at 7pm sharp this year.

Hello everyone! It’s the final week before we get to celebrate art, fashion, music and passion! In just FIVE short days we will be holding our annual Ribbon Rouge Gala! This year’s theme is QUEEN: Women who inspire and motivate us to be difference makers in our community. Please remember to get your tickets for Ribbon Rouge online here. And if you can’t make the show this weekend please donate instead!

This final week we are super excited to share more of our great artists and performers with your. Today we are showcasing Lisa Lowe: our amazing hair beautician! Lisa will be working with our models to make them look amazing on the runway by applying her unique sense of style! She also has a booth where you can have her style your hair for a small fee. Check out our interview with Lisa to get a sense of what she’s all about.

Ribbon Rouge: Who are you? Tell us a little bit about yourself and your history/ what you think is important about who you are?

Lisa Lowe: My name is Lisa Lowe I was born in Jasper and my parents moved to Devon when I was two as they bought the theater. As soon as I was done high school I went directly to N.A.I.T. to become a Beautician as I always knew that was what I wanted to do. For the past twenty seven years I have been a hair stylist in Devon and the last twenty years of that I have had my own mobile full salon hair care business (Lisa’s Mobile Hair Service), taking me anywhere and everywhere making people beautiful. I am an independent female who has survived the world on her own and has recently decided to take on another project of building my own salon so that my clients have another option.

RR: What do you stand for?

LL: In my business I stand for perfection in hair styling and excellence in customer service.

In my personal life I stand for the treatment of others with respect, dignity and honour. I value my friendships in the highest regards.

RR: Our theme this year is QUEEN! It is an ode to powerful women who have positively influenced us by their lives. What does this mean to you?

LL: How do you feel about femininity/ womanhood/ the state of affairs of women’s rights in our country?

I feel females in other countries are far worse off than Canadian women but there is still a barrier for the female to be treated equally as the males and while I can’t begin to know how other women feel as we have it far easier in Canada than most.

RR: Who is your Queen (inspiration)? Why?

LL: I can’t pick one Queen/inspiration as I meet people on a daily basis that inspire me.

RR: Tell us about your art?

LL: I’m so lucky that every day I go to work I get to create my art and follow my passion. But it doesn’t end there; I love to create a variety of different types of art. Most recently I designed a dress made all out of flowers.

RR: What does it mean to you?

LL: I see the immediate positive effects of my art in the joy and happiness that I help create in my clients and the positive self-image that comes from.

RR: Your advice to women?

LL: Don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something because women can do anything!

RR: What does Ribbon Rouge mean to you?

LL: A celebration of creativity and a chance to see how diverse and creative we all can be! It’s a gathering of many people that want to help forward our thinking in the way the world treats females.

Lisa will be on hand at her booth at the Ribbon Rouge Gala and can do your hair for a small fee! Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. You can buy tickets for Ribbon Rouge 2015 online here. The show will start at 7pm sharp this year.